Director: Doug Liman
Writer: Dwain Worrell (Screenplay)
Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Cena, Laith Nakli
Plot: Two American Soldiers are trapped by a lethal sniper, with only an unsteady wall between them.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Good Thriller
Story: The Wall starts as follow two American soldiers Isaac (Taylor-Johnson) and Matthews (Cena) who have been watching over pipe works in the Iraq desert, after nearly 18 hours with no sign of life, Matthews decides to walk to the only area that looks like danger a Wall.
When Matthews is hit by an unknown sniper, Isaac goes down to rescue him but finds himself needing to use the wall as cover injured himself too. With no way of rescuing Matthews, Isaac tries desperately to get help on the radio on to learn he is chatting to the enemy sniper Juba (Nakli). We are left in a cat and mouse situation as the two get to know each other, while waiting for the other to make a mistake.
Thoughts on The Wall
Characters – Isaac is the wounded soldier trapped behind the wall waiting for a mistake from Juba, he is bleeding out and has no connection for rescue, the two chat on the radio as Isaac must find a way to survive the situation. Matthews is fellow soldiers that gets hit by the rouge sniper, he spends most of the film out in the field while the others do battle. Juba is the sniper of legends, nicknamed ‘The Ghost’ because of how deadly he is on the battle field.
Performance – Aaron Taylor-Johnson must do most of the carrying of this film, he does a great job at this because you are held on every word he wants to say and action he makes, John Cena is solid but doesn’t have much to do, Laith Nakli is all voice work as he is the one talking to Isaac through the film.
Story – The story is simple to follow, two soldiers trapped against a lone sniper with nowhere to hide. It is a cat and mouse battle between the two sides as they look to get one up on each other. Having previously seen the movie Mine which also follows a soldier trapped in Iraq minus the sniper it does feel like this is more of the same even if the added inclusion of the sniper does make it feel more intense.
Thriller/War – You are kept on the edge of your seat wondering how things will unfold between the two sides and the war setting only intensifies things as we hear both sides of the war.
Settings – The location is key for this movie as we watch how the characters must do battle in a place where running or rescue isn’t going to be something that can be achieved.
Scene of the Movie – First attack by the sniper.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It could have been a lot more intense.
Final Thoughts – This is a good addition to the genre of person trapped against enemy that could kill them but it doesn’t reach the highest levels.
Overall: Good thriller nothing more.
Rating
